Running Out of Batteries
by delusional-lady
Summary: A chance encounter at a simple convenience store with a classmate opens up new possibilities for Kamio Akira. Shounen-ai.


Running Out of Batteries  
written by: delusionallady  
Some sort of companion fic to _Running Out of Ink  
_Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi-sensei.

It was late in the evening.

But he had run out of batteries for his CD player.

That was more than enough reason to get out of the house and buy some. No batteries meant no music from his CD player. No music meant no distraction. And **boy**, did he need a distraction right. Home.. It just wasn't the best place to be at the moment. For one thing, his parents were fightng over financial issues.. again. Without his music, it was really difficult to stay sane in that house.

Passing by a few blocks, he finally reached the 24-hour convenience store.

He had been in the middle of choosing which brand of batteries to buy when a familiar voice made him turn around.

"Kamio."

The red head was surprised to see who it was. And was surprised to hear nothing following the first word.

"Shinji, what are you doing here?" he asked, nearly forgetting that the young man lived somewhere around the area.

The latter brought out a grip tape as his answer.

"Ah.. Well, I'm here to buy batteries for my player," he said.

Shinji nodded but didn't leave as he waited for his classmate to finish picking. Kamio noticed this as well and wondered why he was waiting.

"Okay, I'm done," he muttered.

Shinji said nothing and walked over to the refrigerated aisle where they kept the sandwiches. Picking out two, he then went to pay for his goods. Kamio fell in line behind him but Shinji took his batteries and merged it with his own groceries.

"Ah... You don't have to pay for that."

Shinji shrugged his shoulders but paid for the batteries anyway.

Kamio wondered why Shinji was acting so weird. Well, it was perfectly normal for people not to burst into long monologues but this was Shinji Ibu. Not sure of how to approach the subject, Kamio settled for following the other. They continued to walk in silence until they reached the street tennis courts. There, they both sat down, backs against the wall.

Kamio was about to ask when he found a sandwich shoved in his mouth.

He watched his classmate in wonder but Shinji was already eating.

"Thanks," he whispered. He was really hungry. There was no dinner tonight so.. He was really grateful.

After they were done with the sandwiches, Kamio decided that he should ask what came over his companion.

"Today was a bad day," Shinji started even before Kamio opened his mouth. "I really hate bad days, don't you? I'm sure you do. Days like today just suck until the sun sets. From the moment I woke up, I knew things weren't going to be okay. For example, I fell off the bed. Talk about waking on the wrong side of the bed.. I don't sleep on a futon, you see. The bed was a lot higher so I ended up falling hard. One of my knees has a bruise now. It was a little yellow a few hours ago but now it's green. It kinda hurts when you push it but it's a funny feeling at the same time. Like a tingle and bla..bla.."

Kamio chuckled softly. Here was the Shinji he knew. "Yeah, today was a pretty lousy day," he whispered, his eyes gently closing. He really couldn't help it. He was a little sleepy. Perhaps a little bit of dinner did him good. What was he gonna do? He couldn't sleep here. But he really couldn't help it.. He closed his eyes and..

His head was resting on something soft and warm. Kamio fluttered his eyes open and realized that he was lying on the court with his head on Shinji's lap. He couldn't have moved like this by himself but Shinji was still muttering..

"...bla..and then someone stole my grip tape. That was why I went back to buy myself a new one. Wakaba-san told me that their new arrivals would come tonight..bla..bla.."

Well, he really didn't want to think about that now. He was just happy and contented to be like this. He had been tired when he left the house but somehow, he was a bit more refreshed.

"..bla..bla.. Sometimes, there are really bad days.." Shinji paused.

"Yeah,.. It's only when the evening's late when everything gets better," Kamio finished with a yawn.

Shinji smiled softly and closed his eyes as well, "Exactly."

OWARI


End file.
